Instructions

This material consists of four assignments. Each assignment has a number of questions which have all been given an approximate weighting. The weightings are used in the overall exam assessment.

All the assignments must be completed independently of each other. The assignments come with an accompanying Excel file, which has a number of appendices containing data and templates. In addition, there is a Word document containing all the questions.

Download:

The Word document with all the questions can be downloaded here.

The Excel file with all the appendices can be downloaded here.

Remember:

Save the files on your computer before you start to use them.

Communication with anyone else during the exam is not permitted.

Assignment 1

Company analysis

Salling Group A/S is Denmark’s largest grocery group, and is behind, for example, the Netto, Bilka and føtex supermarket chains as well as the Salling department stores in Aarhus and Aalborg. In addition, it runs a number of Starbucks and Carl’s Jr. outlets on a franchise basis in its Bilka and Salling stores. In 2019, Salling Group A/S acquired the toy retailer BR, and today the company also has eight online stores, for example bilkatogo.dk and føtex.dk.

Salling Group A/S has operations in Denmark, Germany and Poland, with the following number of stores:

Retail chain	No. of stores
Netto, Denmark	522
Netto, Germany	343
Netto, Poland	394
Bilka	19
føtex & føtex Food	104
Salling	2
BR	28
Starbucks	16
Carl’s Jr.	16
Total	1.444

Together, the various stores offer products and shopping experiences to suit the income and needs of all consumers.

Salling Group A/S was established in 1906, when Ferdinand Salling opened a draper’s shop in Guldsmedgade in central Aarhus. The store grew steadily, and in 1948 the Salling department stores opened. In 1953, Ferdinand Salling died, and the company was taken over by his son Herman Salling, who quickly developed and modernised the Salling department stores. Herman Salling was CEO of the company until his retirement in 1999.

In 1960, føtex was founded with the purpose of opening a chain of supermarkets. In 1970, Bilka was established, followed by Netto in 1981. In the 1990s, Netto was rolled out internationally – first in the UK and Germany, and later in Poland and Sweden. However, the stores in the UK and Sweden have since been sold off.

Today, Salling Group A/S is 100% owned by the Salling Foundations, whose purpose is to generate solid profits for the benefit of both the company and society at large.

On its website, Salling Group A/S says:
“Our purpose is to improve everyday life – for our customers and for the society we are a part of. We do this through more sustainable solutions, the best customer value, job opportunities for all and donations to good causes through our owners, the Salling Foundations.”

Salling Group A/S’s purpose must be realised according to the following values:

Integrity
Passionate
Agile
Competitive
Efficient

Salling Group A/S wants to take social responsibility, and the company has therefore decided to focus on health, responsible products, people and diversity as well as the climate and the environment. By working with these focus areas, it is possible for Salling Group A/S to take social responsibility while giving customers an opportunity to do the same through, for example, being able to buy organic products.

In 2020, Salling Group A/S had 26,693 employees. It posted total revenue of DKK 60,855 million, and a profit before tax of DKK 2,339 million.

This assignment comes with the following material:

Articles:

Key figures:

Prepared accounting and key figures for Salling Group A/S for the years 2018 to 2020. See Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

Questions 1.1 - 1.6

1.1 (10%)
Based on the accompanying material, explain which factors have impacted Salling Group A/S’s financial development from 2018 to 2020.

1.2 (15%)
Analyse the development in the index figures for earnings and asset use efficiency (capital adjustment) from 2018 to 2020 with the help of these factors. See question 1.1.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.3 (10%)
Assess how the development in the index figures affected the profit margin ratio and the asset turnover ratio from 2018 to 2020.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.4 (5%)
Explain why the return on equity (ROE) rises from 27.7% in 2019 to 30.7% in 2020.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.5 (5%)
Assess which growth strategies Salling Group A/S is pursuing.

1.6 (5%)
Assess why Salling Group A/S decides to expand its range to include more organic products.

Assignment 2

Calculation

Delicato, which is run by Alfredo Di Lucca, is a small Italian delicatessen in Gentofte which specialises in importing fine Italian speciality foods.

Born and raised in Turin, Alfredo Di Lucca arrived in Denmark as a young man after falling in love with a Danish woman. After training as a shop assistant and then working his way up to department store manager, he decided to pursue his dream of starting his own business.

Alfredo Di Lucca managed to find a Sicilian producer of dried pasta, which is known for its high quality. Alfredo has obtained a quotation for the purchase of 3,000 packets of pappardelle pasta, a broad, flat pasta type. One packet costs EUR 2. At the current exchange rate, EUR 100 costs DKK 743. The insurance premium accounts for 3% of the purchase price. Shipping costs are DKK 1.10 per packet, and forwarding is DKK 1,100 for the entire consignment. No customs duty is payable as the products are purchased within the EU.

Alfredo Di Lucca budgets with a selling price of DKK 35 for a packet of pappardelle pasta. To kick off sales of the pappardelle pasta, Alfredo Di Lucca has decided to spend DKK 2,750 on an ad in the local weekly shopper newspaper.

To ensure a satisfactory operating economy for Delicato, Alfredo Di Lucca is aiming for a contribution ratio of 60% on all the products in his product range.

Questions 2.1 - 2.4

2.1 (5%)
Calculate the variable unit costs for a packet of pappardelle pasta.

The information you need can be found in Appendix 2.

2.2 (5%)
Calculate the contribution margin and the contribution ratio for one packet of pappardelle pasta.

2.3 (5%)
Calculate how many packets of pappardelle pasta need to be sold in order to cover the cost of the ad (DKK 2,750).

2.4 (5%)
Assess what Alfredo Di Lucca can do to improve the contribution ratio for a packet of pappardelle pasta.

Assignment 3

Starting a business

Amalie and Johanna Nielsen are sisters, and grew up in Silkeborg. Both young women are very keen to live healthily and do lots of exercise to stay in shape. In addition, living sustainably is very important to them so they do not contribute to climate change.

For some time, the two sisters have been looking for high-quality activewear which is comfortable and made of sustainable materials. It would appear that activewear that meets these requirements is very hard to find in Denmark. The two sisters have therefore come up with the idea of starting a company that will import quality activewear made of sustainable materials. The clothing will be sold exclusively via the company’s online store.

The sisters have studied the market for high-quality activewear, and believe they have identified a niche segment with very little competition.

The two sisters have set out a number of assumptions for the company, which will be called QualiWorkoutGear:

The two women have savings of DKK 300,000, which they want to invest in the company.
They have found storage premises in Silkeborg, where there is also an office. The monthly rent is DKK 9,500, and on signing the rental agreement, they also need to pay a deposit corresponding to three months’ rent.
The premises need refurbishing. The ceilings need to be replaced, and it all needs to be painted. Refurbishing the premises will cost DKK 40,000.
Fixtures and fittings/equipment for the storage facility and for the office will cost DKK 50,000.
IT equipment will cost DKK 30,000.
An e-commerce solution needs to be developed, which will cost DKK 100,000.
A van must be acquired, at a cost of DK175,000.
A start-up inventory needs to be purchased for DKK 225,000.
In the weeks leading up to the opening of their business, the sisters expect to have to spend DKK 75,000 on advertising their online store.
The sisters want cash reserves in the bank of DKK 100,000.

Even though the sisters have complete faith in their business idea, they are not willing to lose more than their DKK 300,000 contribution.

Questions 3.1 - 3.3

3.1 (5%)
Prepare a start-up budget for QualiWorkoutGear.

A template for the start-up budget can be found in Appendix 3.

3.2 (5%)
Explain why it makes sense for QualiWorkoutGear to have a cash reserve.

3.3 (5%)
Assess which form of ownership the sisters should choose for QualiWorkoutGear.

Assignment 4

Reporting

Kaffe-Import A/S is a Danish wholesale company that buys coffee in South America and resells it to retail chains, restaurants, hotels etc. in Scandinavia.

The company was established nine years ago, and has grown every year. It now has 40 employees and revenue of more than DKK 300 million. The company has chosen a business model which involves making fast deliveries to customers, and therefore Kaffe-Import A/S needs a large inventory. Based on its fast deliveries, Kaffe-Import A/S can charge more for its products.

The company’s finances are handled by Ole Pedersen, who has been with the company for three years. He has full responsibility for the finances and reporting.

In connection with the financial statements for 2021, Ole Pedersen has printed out the trial balance at 31 December 2021 and calculated the net profit for the year as being DKK 2.990 million.

Kaffe-Import A/S was badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as many of its customers were shut down for an extended period of time. This meant that the demand for Kaffe-Import A/S’s products declined sharply for a period, with the result that goods worth DKK 2 million passed their sell-by date and had to be discarded.

Questions 4.1 - 4.2

4.1 (10%)
Prepare the balance sheet for Kaffe-Import A/S as at 31 December 2021. It is not necessary to prepare notes.

The trial balance can be found in Appendix 4.
A template for the balance sheet can be found in Appendix 5.

4.2 (5%)
Explain how Kaffe-Import A/S’s profit and equity have been impacted by having to discard goods worth DKK 2 million which have exceeded their sell-by date.